Rodents & Rabbits

A rabbit cage sized for the grown rabbit:

floor space matters more than anything printed on the box. Many cages sold for rabbits are a bedroom and little else, so most keepers pair one with a folding exercise pen, the same metal panels listed as puppy playpens in dog supplies. Costa Rica’s rabbit farms run on New Zealand and California crosses, large white meat breeds, and their young look just like a dwarf for the first few weeks; a cage that suits a true dwarf rabbit is cramped for one of those well before its first birthday. Wooden hutches with a sleeping box suit a covered veranda, but keep them in the shade: rabbits handle heat far worse than cold.

Rat towers, mouse cages and a guinea pig’s ground floor:

rodents split by how they use space. Pet rats climb, so their cage is tall, with shelves, ramps and a hammock. Mice need much closer bars, because a mouse slips through gaps that hold a rat, and many keepers use a glass tank with a mesh lid instead. Guinea pigs do not climb at all: they want a wide, low cage with a house to hide in, and ramps are wasted on them. Their pellets should be made for guinea pigs, with added vitamin C, rather than rabbit pellets, and they should not share a hutch with a rabbit, which can hurt one with a single kick. Rats and mice both chew thin plastic, and a cheap base will not last them.

Galvanised cages from the rabbit farm, and what goes on the floor:

galvanised wire cages from the meat-rabbit trade come up second-hand, often in stacks, and they are roomy and hard to chew. Their floors are mesh so droppings fall through, which is efficient on a farm and hard on a pet: a rabbit that lives on wire for months gets sores on its hocks. If you use one, cover most of the floor with a board, a rubber mat or a thick layer of hay. Bedding should be plain wood shavings or paper, dust-free, and never aromatic cedar. Hay baled for horses and cattle can do for rabbits and guinea pigs if it is green, smells sweet and shows no dust or grey mould. Store it off the floor and out of the rain, and fix the hay rack high enough that nobody sits in it.

Rust in the corners and a gnawed tray on a used hutch:

run a hand round the inside for snapped wire ends, and look for rust where urine pools, which is nearly always the corners. Plastic trays crack and get chewed at the rim. Wooden hutches soak up urine and hold the smell, so press the floorboards for soft patches and check whether the roof lets in rain. On cheap cages the door clips bend until a rabbit can nose them open, and a rabbit that gets out that way often ends up in animals lost and found. Turn the water bottle upside down: it should only drip when the ball is pushed. Whatever lived in it before, wash a second-hand cage with hot water and a disinfectant before anything moves in.

Photos and measurements for a hutch or rat tower:

start with the outside length, depth and height, and for a wire cage say what lived in it, since bar spacing that holds a rabbit will not hold a mouse. Photograph the tray, the door clips and the floor, and show any rust or chewing before a buyer finds it. Say what comes with it: bottle, hay rack, bowls, a hide, how many pen panels. If it lived outdoors, say so, and clean it before the photos. A big hutch or a stack of farm cages needs a pickup, and whoever drives from Coronado or a farm near Zarcero should know whether it comes apart, and bring the tools to do it.